Thrills AND Skills Blog

Pre-Teen Fun Day & Cabin Fever Workshop

2012-02-21T11:00:00.000-08:00

Saturday, Feb. 18 was a fun day for 4H kids & adults. Many members from our group participated in the activities that Teen Council provided during Pre-Teen Fun Day.

The kids got to make lots of recycled projects such as Recycled Paper, a drink coaster made from an old CD, a bird feeder made out of plastic containers and Dog Toys made from old T-shirts! Some of our Senior members were even involved in planning and teaching throughout the day. If you have any pictures from the day, please share them with Mrs. Corcoran and she'll put them up on the blog for all to enjoy. Thanks!

Here are a few of Nessa's finished projects... her T-shirt dog toy, her recycled paper dog, and her CD coaster. Nice work!

Here's Maeve's recycled paper star.

Maeve couldn't finish her bird feeder at the event... but here she is finishing it at home....

And.... the fun wasn't just for the kids! 4H adults (parents, volunteers and leaders) participated in the Cabin Fever Workshop. We crocheted an Apple Cozy - perfect for your lunchbox so that your apple arrives at lunch with no bruises and ready to enjoy.

Here are Mrs. Corcoran's finished apple cozies... all ready to be filled and packed into lunch boxes when school is back in session after vacation! Aren't they so cute? :o)

Trash to Treasure!

2012-02-17T18:39:00.000-08:00

What an awesome meeting tonight! We got to make some really interesting Market Bags, Pencil Cases, Back Packs, Lunch Sacks, etc. - all from Recycled Feed Sacks! That's right The Thrills & Skills 4 H group were personally responsible for keeping at least a dozen Feed Sacks out of the Landfills! Nice work everyone!

The Morton's, Corcoran's and even Cindy from our local Brunswick Agway provided us with the feed sacks. Here are Hannah and Grace choosing which they will use to make their project.

Gabby and Mrs. Renna get to work on Gabby's bag.

Nessa and Mrs. Corcoran work on Nessa's lunch sack.And, in just under 2 hours just about everyone finished one project or another. Such variety, such style! Way to go Thrills & Skills-ers! Save those cool bags to bring to the fair!

Thanks, too, to Maeve, Nessa and Beibhinn's Grammy for supplying us with the zippers! They worked great!

Thanks, also to Bernadine Wiesen from the 4H office for coming to our "pre-meeting" this evening and talking with many of the families about the Pheasant Rearing Project we are looking to pursue this Spring!

Here we are watching a short video about the program. It was a great chance for the kids to learn first hand about the program and get many of their questions answered. The adults in attendance learned a lot, too! Thanks Mrs. Wiesen for taking your time to meet with us!

Survivor Bracelets

2012-02-05T06:26:00.000-08:00

What do you do with about a billion yards of cording and some buckles? A 4H craft project, of course!

Mrs. Morton led this month's craft project and what a fun project it turned out to be - Survivor Bracelets! She shared with us that originally soldiers in the Vietnam War developed this project as a way of carrying some cord with them everywhere they went, just in case they needed it to... SURVIVE!

While we may not need to use our cord to 'survive in a hostile situation', we could use it to help make our lives a little easier.... say, for instance, your hiking boot lace breaks while you are out hiking? Or, "Oh, no! My backpack zipper broke! Now what?" - lucky for you, your Survivor Bracelet has 10 feet of super strong cord in it. All you have to do is unwind it, and tie it around your bag, re-lace your shoe, or use it in whatever way you can think of.... then, retie it and have it ready for the next emergency!

Mrs. Morton and Mrs. Corcoran prepared "starter bracelets" for everyone.
Everyone got right to work on their bracelets. (Nice nails, Maeve!)

Ummmm Gabby, how did you manage to do this sideways? Again, I can't seem to reformat these... any help would be appreciated!

Everyone seemed to catch on to the macrame style knotting we needed to complete the projects! In fact, I am almost certain that EVERYONE completed their bracelet (or collar as in Adam's case!!)

Remember to hold on to these bracelets as an item to enter in the Schaghticoke Fair in August! We hope to see lots of Blue Ribbons for the work you put into these!

Want to learn a bit more? Here's a website I found.
The definition of a "Survival Bracelet"

http://www.authorpalace.com/recretion-and-leisure/outdoors/camping/paracord-survival-bracelets-definition.html

Recycling Fun

2012-01-25T07:57:00.000-08:00

We talked about all sorts of ways to recycle. Then Mrs. Morton gave out a huge bag of TRASH to sort. Hannah and her crew did a great job sorting items into categories of:
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
Compost
TRASH
or......give to the chickens!

After this activity - we talked about our water supply - and how important it is to protect it. OTHERWISE - we might have really icky water coming out of our wells and taps. So - if this happens, how can we clean it up so we have water to drink? Miss "A" doesn't think it smells very good and there is NO WAY She is gonig to drink it - even if all the dirt and blue color comes out!

Grace doesn't think it smells very good either - - - - and Miss Maeve is ONLY folding up a toilet paper WRAPPER to put in the paper recycling bin!

Everyone is trying to get that icky potting soil out of their drinking water! Even Miss "B" gets in on the act.....

Maybe a coffee filter will help?

Either way - Miss "A" thinks recycling is a great idea!

So do her friends..... nice job everyone paying attention and making some great refrigerator magnets to help you remembere to RECYCLE!

Baking!!!

2011-12-19T10:39:00.001-08:00

Thanks to the hard work of 11 of our Thrills and Skills 4Hers there will be 20 people in the community who will have some wonderful treats to enjoy. On Friday Dec. 16th, 4 groups of bakers led by Mrs. LoPorto, Mr. Renna, Mrs. Johnston and Mrs. Seaman baked 40 dozen cookies! If you are interested in recreating these wonderful cookies, check out each recipe below the following pictures!

Mrs. LoPorto is assisted by Sal & Gabby. Yummy Snowball cookies are on the way!

And, like magic, here they are!

Grace, Nessa, Mrs. Seaman and Emma worked on divine lemon-y goodness! Yummmmm!

Kathleen and Mrs. Johnson work on some Gluten Free Peanut Butter Blossoms. While Mr. Renna, Maeve, and Adam start their Chocolate covered Oreo Poppers! Chocolate dipped in Chocolate? Sign me up!
Adam, Mrs. Gorbaty, Maeve, Mrs. Corcoran and Emma are shown here on the platter assembly line. What an operation! and in no time at all 20 beautiful platters were prepared for the members to share with members of the community to show our appreciation for all they do and to let them know that they are being thought of at this festive time of year!

Beautiful job everyone! If anyone has any pictures of Hannah, Emily and or Antoinette, please share them with me as they are not represented here, but were definitely involved in this baking extravaganza! And, as promised:

Oreo Poppers (Adam, Maeve & Mr. Renna’s group)

1 bag oreo cookies

1 brick cream cheese

1 pkg choc. Chips

1 gal. zip lock bag

crush cookies (finely) in bag.

mix with cream cheese in a bowl until combined

roll cookies into small balls

coat with melted chocolate

refrigerate to set chocolate

Lemon Snaps (Grace, Emma, Nessa & Mrs. Seaman)

½ c. butter, softened

½ c packed brown sugar

2 T granulated sugar

1 egg

2 T lemon juice

½ tsp. grated lemon rind

1 c. white flour

¼ tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

Cream butter and sugar at high speed for 3-5 minutes

Add egg and beat another 2-3 min.

Stir in remaining ingredents. Mix until well combined.

Drop by rounded teaspoons on greased cookie sheet.

Bake 12-15 min at 375 degrees. Remove from pan immediately and sprinkle with 10X sugar

Makes 2 doz. Cookies

Snowballs (Gabby, Sal and Mrs. LoPorto’s group)

2 cups flour

1 c butter at room temp

4 T sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp. almond extract

2 cups chopped walnuts

Powdered sugar

Cream butter, sugar and extracts together with mixer very thoroughly.

Add flour, nuts, and knead together with hands until well combined.

Roll into small balls and place on ungreased cookie sheets.

Place in preheated 300 degree oven for about 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Roll while hot or warm in powdered sugar.

Cool on rack and roll again in powdered sugar.

Peanut Butter Blossoms (gluten free) (Kathleen, Hannah, Antoinette, Emily & Mrs. Johnson’s group)

2 eggs

1 cup peanut butter

1 c. sugar

Beat eggs

Stir in peanut butter and sugar

Spoon by tsp onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes

Top each cookie with an unwrapped chocolate kiss.

Makes 2 ½ doz. 2 inch cookies

Other cookies included:

Rum cookies (Nessa Corcoran)

½ c sifted 10 X sugar (plus some for rolling)

2T cocoa

½ c fine chopped pecans

3 T light corn syrup

¼ c. rum

1 box vanilla wafers

combine everything but the wafers.

Crush wafers into fine crumbs

Mix in crushed wafers

Form into small balls and roll in 10 x sugar

Turbans (peanut butter crinkles) (Mortons)

Snickerdoodles (Maeve Corcoran)

3 T sugar

1tsp ground cinnamon

1 pkg yellow cake mix

2 eggs

¼ c vegetable oil

preheat oven to 375 degrees

combine sugar and cinnamon and set aside

combine other ingredents into a large ball. Roll into small balls

roll in sugar mixture.

Place on cookie sheet, flatten with a floured bottom of glass.

Bake for 7-9 min. cool on sheet for one minute, then remove to wire rack.

Winter Fair- 2012

2011-12-16T15:31:00.000-08:00

Thrills & Skills hosted a Winter Fair for the first time. We had cookies to frost,
Some nice crafts.....

The preparations were made - now, WHERE IS THE CROWD?

We made perty coookies!

Yes - Will - I told ya if you smiled for me the BLOG was the next place you'd see THIS!~

And Eliza is judging Emma's wonderful banner..

And, of course - the adults have a good time too. It was nice to see Jayne!

And Abbie - her wreath out of all natural materials and a bow she made was just perfect!Here we have two new Teen Ambassadors trying their hand at being judges. Nothing is better than frosting and eating on the spot! Nice job Adam.

Winter Fair Preparation

2011-12-05T12:16:00.000-08:00

Our December 2nd meeting involved Winter Fair Preparations. We completed 5 projects that can be entered into our fair later this month! First up, a 'pipe cleaner and bead Christmas Tree ornament.' Here Mrs. Morton and Mrs. LaPorto help Nessa and a potential new member, Bridget complete her project. This is one of the projects we will invite our Winter Fair guests to do next week. Good thing we had a chance to try it out ourselves since we will be too busy hosting at our fair to get a chance to do the project then!

Next up, a Stocking Ornament, using none other than our famous "Big Shot"! Mrs. Gorbaty led this station. This is #2 of the projects we will invite other 4Hers to complete at our Winter Fair.
Then, we also used rubbers stamps, ink and cardstock to make a Winter themed card, a Hanukkah card and a Christmas card. We plan to place these in the card holder we wove at last month's meeting and enter these in the Winter Fair to be judged. On these cards we explored "backgrounds" and "focal points." Everyone's creativity was flowing by the end of the evening!

Ingrid and Hannah working on their "Winter Card."

Maeve, Grace and Emily working on their Hanukkah card.

Ummmmm, no Kathleen, Hope and Antoinette were not defying gravity, Poor Mrs. Corcoran can't figure out how to rotate the picture in blogger! :o) Help appreciated!

Center Brunswick United Methodist Church Dinner

2011-12-05T11:50:00.000-08:00

For the second year running, members of our 4H group helped out at Center Brunswick United Methodist Church's Holiday Dinner.

Emma, Hannah, Ingrid, Grace and Maeve Corcoran, assisted by Mrs. Morton and Mrs. Gorbaty, served approximately 50 people a 3 course dinner! They even served coffee!

And, no dinner would be complete without CLEAN UP! The girls were troopers and got the job done "lickety split!"

Of course, a snack was a great incentive!

Nice job, ladies! Your volunteering made your group very proud!

Adopt-A-Child Gifts

2011-11-24T07:02:00.000-08:00

Every year since 2004 when the older girls in the group were in first grade, we have given gifts to Adopt-a-Child thru Joseph's House or Unity House in Troy. This year is no different. I only committed to ONE gift/family. Please CALL GRETCHEN to select a gift (663-7630)- so we don't duplicate anything. As you call and make selections - I'll add your last name to this list so you have a place to look if you forget what you have chosen.

Thanks as always for your generosity - this really makes the holiday special for local families in need.

Remember to bring your gift to the December 2nd meeting - NOT WRAPPED - but labeled with the childs name and the family number. Wrapping paper, ribbon, a bow and occasional roll of tape are appreciated.

Here are the family numbers, child's name, girl/boy, age and the gifts their parents have asked for.

#990 Nyeema Girl/4 years Learn to Laugh Puppy Given by:Morton's
#990 Nyeema Girl/4 years Dora Doll Given by: Donlon's
#990 Nyeema Girl/4 years Croc Block Wagon Given by: THE KITTY
#990 Tatiana Girl/2 years Baby Alive Given by: Renna's
#990 Tatiana Girl/2 yrs Cuddly Stuffed Animal Given by:Corcoran's
#990 Tatiana Girl/2 years Educational Toy Given by: Gorbaty's
#996 Daijah Girl/12 years Fashion Design Kit Given by: Scharnott
#996 Daijah Girl/12 years Crayola Color Kit Given by: Fountain's
#996 Daijah Girl/12 years Jewelry Kit Given by: Gorbaty
#988 Dominic BOY/9 years Nerf Dart Tag Given by: LoPorto's
#988 Dominic BOY/9 years Hot Wheels Given by: Johnson's
#988 Dominic BOY/9 years Transformers Given by: Mulligan

GEO-Scavenger Hunt

2011-11-12T10:49:00.000-08:00

LOOK at all the cars. This has to be the sign of a fun event!
We divided into 4 groups of 3 or 4 kids each with a couple of adults and at least one GPS device. Here are a few of the kids waiting for another group to move on before they try to find the next cache...... Mrs. Fortun is keeping them entertained with Simon Says~!

Here are a few Thrills & Skills kids, their friend Kora and a new Green Earthling friend, Christina. They are on their way to Cache #3.

So - here are a couple of Thrilling Mom's with some GREEN kids at Cache #4. They are reading the cache ticket and figuring out what to do with all that "floss"... Um - I think it is to turn into Friendship Bracelets! And then - on to Cache #5...

Here is Jessie with her group deep in the woods at Cache #5. It's a good thing that this one had FOOD in it and that the bears didn't root it out overnight while it was hidden. Hmmm - I wonder if there are any MORE granola bars in the woods! Gabbys' doing a nice job reading all about what to do with the snacks and how to find the next cache!

When it was all over everyone gathered at "Headquarters" to redeem their raffle tickets from Cache #2 for Stewarts Ice Cream Cone cards, use their marshmallows and chocolate chips from Cache #1 in their cocoa, and Mrs. Corcoran taught everyone all about friendship bracelets and how to make them with the floss found in Cache #4..

Here is the quintessential GROUP SHOT! What a great great bunch of kids and adults. Thanks everyone for participating with a good attitude, being real troupers with the cold windy morning weather and CONGRATS TO ALL - I think everyone found all five caches! I can't wait to see some friendship bracelets and special buttons "around the town".

Rensselaer County 4H Achievement Night

2011-10-22T18:41:00.000-07:00

What a turn out at the Achievement Night this year! We took up 2 sets of tables!!!! It was excellent to see 100% of our group in attendance!

After the presentation of awards & certificates and the recognition of leaders, Grace and Maeve gave the 2010-2011 Thrills and Skills secretary report together. It was very impressive to hear all that our group accomplished over the past year. The girls summarized all the meals we shared, several of our outdoor activities, the wide variety of projects we participated in, and the MANY accomplishments our members enjoyed! What was also impressive was the poise and (excuse the pun) "grace" these two displayed. They spoke clearly, loudly and confidently in front of their audience! You've made us proud, ladies - very proud, indeed!

After last year's reports were completed, we witnessed this year's Installation of Officers. Ingrid (not pictured) Shannon, Maeve (who, trust me, was more thrilled about her new position than this picture indicates), Kathleen, and Emma all took the oath for their respective positions.

After our dinner and awards ceremony several members attended the Tamarac football game while still others attended the middle school dance. Busy night in town, eh? That left several of our junior members with the chance to get in a project meeting! Mrs. Gorbaty provided us with the supplies and instruction for a really cool leather braiding project!

We learned a valuable lesson, however.... starting after 8pm on a very tricky project was probably not a really good idea. We decided to revisit the project at another meeting (with more rested brains) - which was a good idea, because...

the project can be done! After a good night's rest, this was the result! Who's up for revisiting this project? Tricky Braided Bracelets would be a great addition to the fair, don't cha' think?

The Beginning of Cool Projects

2011-10-22T07:37:00.000-07:00

After the elections - we started two projects that we'll work on this Fall. The first was to dye a bunch of old light colored T-shirts. We plan to cut them into strips and make a recycled project for the Winter Fair. Here Ingrid and the Jr's are looking at the dye chart - Mrs. Gorbaty said that with the colors she had we could make ANY colors we wanted.
and we did!................................

Then we picked inspirational words. Using Mrs. Corcoran's BIG SHOT - we used fabric with wonder under on the back to cut out the words. Later we'll iron these on burlap - and make a banner with the inspirational word on it. It's a sewing project! Look for them at the 2012 Fair! Other words chosen were

EXPLORE

COURAGE

LAUGH

LIVE

BELIEVE

2011-2012 Thrills and Skills Elections Complete

2011-10-07T18:26:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to our new officers!!!!

President - Ingrid

Vice President - Shannon

Treasurer - Emma

Jr. Secretary - Maeve

Sr. Secretary - Kathleen

Best of luck as you pursue your new positions!!!

Candidates for President

2011-10-03T16:47:00.001-07:00

Maeve: " I will listen to other people.......I will always consider what they say..... Vote for me....to make yourself heard!" Video statement at bottom!
Ingrid: "I would like to help everyone earn a place for an item at the NYState Fair.....help the members of the group be more involved with decisions about projects and outings...... and lead this group in a positive direction." Video Statement at bottom.

Candidate for Vice President

2011-10-03T16:46:00.004-07:00

Shannon ".... (I) am a good role model for our younger members...... If you have any dreams for this club like me, I would like to hear them."

Candidates for Senior Secretary

2011-10-03T16:46:00.003-07:00

Kathleen: " I promise to be at the Teen Ambassador's meetings... I will do my best to relay information to the Junior Secretary...I'm a genuinely nice person to everyone in Thrills & Skills... So, vote for me."

Candidates for Junior Secretary

2011-10-03T16:46:00.001-07:00

GRACE: "....my minutes will be complete....helping us to achieve Honor Status again.....and other 4H'ers will know what T&S is doing by reading the minutes in the Clover Chronicle and perhaps getting good ideas for things to do with their 4-H Club...."

Grace's video statement is at the VERY BOTTOM. webmaster error!

MAEVE: "It takes four offices to make our 4-H club and i promise that if you vote for me then the secretary will do a full fledged job."

Candidates for Treasurer

2011-10-03T16:45:00.000-07:00

HANNAH: Campaign statements for Hannah will be uploaded when avialable.
EMMA: " I enjoy math and this will give me the opportunity to practice my skills in a real life situation. Your money will be in good hands if you give it to me!" Video statement below NESSA: "I am good with money. I can add and subtract. I am NOT afraid of getting up in front of people" Video Statement below

Judging Day at the Fair

2011-08-29T16:29:00.000-07:00

Whatta busy day at the Schaghticoke Fair. I only saw 6 of our 10 families - and didn't get pictures of EVERYONE - the day gets long doesn't it. WELL DONE - the kids did a lot of line standing and faced the judges. I saw a lot of sheets with a lot of blue ribbons.
WELL DONE! I can't wait to see it all on Wednesday when it's all there, arranged, and wonderful.
Here are more of our items on disiplay Melanie's frame, Grace's journal that ALyssa helped her make, Ingrid's painting, and maybe a few others in the background. Love the ski mug Mel!

Speaking of Melanie - here she faces de judge with her cookbook. How'd that turn out? Well I hope. A few more of "our" grey clad bunch. THANKS folks for wearing our LOGO today. Nice for folks to see where ya come from. Here Will, Hannah and INgrid wait for the Food Judge who was looking at Cookbooks. Donna looks on from behind. Do I see her sticking her toungue out at me????

Grace and Eliza face the JUDGE of Record Books - Well done girls. I think they both got BLUE ribbons.While the kids work was being judged - some of the kids and parents put the fair displays together. Here is our outdoor display. It features a picnic table (courtesy of Green Earthlings - THANK YOU VERY MUCH), a campfire (behind one of those pine trees that decided to survive the winter), and lots of MUMS - Thanks DONNA for the Mums, Barb for the poster & Banner, and Cindy for the faux food!! In this display we encourage everyone to enjoy family time together outdoors. Thanks to all who helped get this together today!

Here are a bunch of the kids now "judged" sewing items. I'm sure the 4H'ers will arrange it all nicely before the fair opens on Wednesday. I see our kids cross stitch, some notebook covers, a cuple of quilts, a dress and an apron......

And - here is our indoor display. This features an apron , samples of our planning sheets, the group rotation schedule, a cookbook, and pictures from all of our meals this year. Even better - all the kids narratives about the 4H LIFE SKILLS are on display. THANKS everyone for your support getting this together. I know it was a tad boring - and the writing was hard. You did a great job.

Indoor Fair Display

2011-08-28T18:32:00.000-07:00

Hopefully this will look good in person - I realize the picture is TOO small for you to really see what it's all about.

WELL done everyone getting those cards written out - take some time to read this and enjoy the pictures of all our cooking this past year!

We did a lot of cooking and a lot of learning about a lot of LIFE SKILLS!

and.... we made Thrills & Skills cookbooks

2011-08-23T17:49:00.000-07:00

Here is our bunch of SKILLED 4H members - - - - - well, maybe here they more resemble 4H THRILL seekers!

Today was a second hard day of work getting ready for the fair. I was impressed to have 12 kids come back for a second dose of work! THANKS everyone -

Leave it to Mrs. G. No simple little collection of paper will do. NOPE - we BOUND our cookbooks. Here everyone gets to work cutting the cover papers. Aren't they pretty? Wills was handsome!

And then it got a tiny bit complicated - - Little pieces, cut corners just so - lots of glue spread evenly, folding tight round the corners. But we did a great job of paying attention and working together.

This even involved a needle and thread. a MIGHTY big and SHARP needle actually. Some were meticulous about making the holes 1" apart here....

It was tricky to put the sticky two-sided paper down and have it all line up right. Here Kathleen has her block of paper ready for sewing. Alyssa is hard at work too.

Maeve - with a beautiful creation. LOOK For it at the fair everyone! I'm hoping for a blue ribbon! Here are all of the books. Such a lovely display -nice work everyone.

Speaking of displays... everyone looks great and happy. LOVE IT!

SOMEONE likes BIG GIRL SHOES - they are "so so petty".

A Day of WORK to get ready for the Fair.......

2011-08-23T17:44:00.000-07:00

We had lots of work to do - We worked on expressing our thoughts about the 4H Life Skills circle - it was hard work.
...lots of hard work.

we worked on record books. Labeling our entries and filling out the entry forms. Some spent time with needle & thread and sewing machines finishing up projects. Later - Mrs. Fox came to do a Mary Kay Skin Care party. Everyone enjoyed the time and learned a lot about taking good care of their skin. Her parting words were somethign like"water, rest, healthy fruits and veggies, and wash your face twice a day"...

I saw lots of smiles around the table...

Lots of them...

yes - indeed - very happy smiles!

Fair Clean-Up Day

2011-08-23T17:39:00.000-07:00

Summer has gone all to fast - and it's already time to clean out the 4H building at the fair. Here we are with some dedicated 4H'ers from Green Earthlings and others weeding out the fair plot. THANKS to all who helped us!
There were a LOT of weeds.

We did a lot of arranging inside too. Here some of our Jr. Thrills & Skills'ers arrange things for the Fashion Display. SO helpful - SO cute.......

Planning for 2011-2012 4H year is underway!

2011-07-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Gorbaty, Mrs. Morton and Mrs. Corcoran met last week for 2.5 hours to begin planning for our 2011-2012 4-H year! Thanks to: Mrs. Morton for hashing out a rough outline ahead of time, to Mrs. Gorbaty for printing them out for us, and to Mrs. Corcoran for hosting us. Ingrid, Maeve, Nessa and Beibhinn had to hang out inside since we had quite the afternoon rain shower!

Our planning session was focused on the junior 4H’ers and the activities that they would be involved in and those activities that would involve the juniors and seniors. Some great ideas were tossed around for the coming year. We will be revisiting some old familiar projects/activities like sewing, cooking and geocaching, and we will be adding some new projects/activities like an archery lesson, a bit of weaving and some card making! It is going to be an exciting year with Thrills and Skills and we are all looking forward to it!

In addition to our planning there was some discussion about assisting next year’s the officers to really blossom in their positions and to master the skills those positions require. Stay tuned for details and announcement regarding this!

Emma's Post

2011-04-01T17:13:00.000-07:00

Here I am mixing the batter for delicious waffles. These were healthier than normal waffles, they were made with whole wheat flower.

Even though I am smiling for the camera, I really don't like whisking the batter. I'd rather be playing with my friends.

Hannah's Post

2011-04-01T17:01:00.000-07:00

Adam and I were grating cheese for Quiche. I think that Quiche tastes more than delicious. Everybody loved it.

Here is a picture of Mr. Johnson being crazy while making Brownies. I like Brownies.

Serving the Community

2010-12-15T09:01:00.000-08:00

We were asked to serve the United Methodist Adult Christmas Party Dinner. The Middle School kids all came and did a great job. A few Mom's came to plate the dinner in the church kitchen. It was a busy busy time - but we were really appreciated by all those that came and enjoyed the dinner. Mrs. Morton made the group matching aprons with our Logo on them. Everyone looked fantastic - a truly OFFICIAL bunch of 4H'ers!
Here Gretchen is working to keep the coffee pot going, Donna is taking a well-deserved beverage break - it was REALLY HOT in that kitchen - 4 ovens had been running all afternoon with seven pork-roasts. Terri is getting ready to serve the dinner.

After dinner we served the final course - PIE! The church has a whole room dedicated to pie - THE PIE ROOM! WOW, what a fun concept! Every home should have one of these.

IN the end there were lots of dishes to be done by hand. Terri said she had NEVER seen so many dishes - and NO dishwasher, just our hands! Cindy, very well versed in Methodist dinner and kitchen work, came in near the end to pitch in a hand and help get this job done. Meanwhile, our great servers finally had the opportunity to enjoy some of the delicious food that they had been serving all night.

A Sleepover of COFFEE!

2010-11-20T08:47:00.000-08:00

We collected a total of $40 worth of coffee money. The Center Brunswick UM Church also collected 58 pounds of coffee that needed to be repacked into 1/2 pound bags for the Pittstown Food Pantry... So - we had a total of 70 - yes SEVENTY pounds of coffee to handle at the sleepover~!
So - we jumped right in and got to work - - - labeling bags, filling and sealing them - and, moving coffee from the garage to be packed, and into boxes to be loaded into Mrs. M's car to deliver to the pantry on Saturday morning. What a shuffle it was - done in about an hour. NICE JOB EVERYON!

Here we are having fun and working SORT OF hard!

Then we made REINDEER Christmas Ornaments. If you made one be sure and save it in a safe place to enter in the WINTER FAIR!

We did a lot of HOT GLUE GUNNING! What fun for our 4H Friends to share. A guest came - Miss E - and everyone enjoyed a new face at this evening of fun. Glad you could come, and have a HAPPY BIRTHDAY next week!

Our finished critters! Yup - that looks like it is 80% recycled! Thanks Donna for the kits and organization you provided. Enjoyed by all!

After some more crafts - and a snack or two - 3 kids slept over. After a mere 7 hours of sleep - we went to deliver the coffee to the food pantry. Gosh - it looks like the sun wasn't even up yet!

Here we are - we went right to work filling up boxes for the Pantry Patrons to pick up at 9am. One stuffing, one can of yams, one dessert, 3 cans of veggies, rolls, apples, and more went into each box. The kids helped fill them and then checked the inventory sheets to make sure the box had EVERYTHING needed for a Thanksgiving Dinner. All in all - 60 boxes were prepared. What a great community service the pantry and her volunteers do.

Mrs. G took time out to explain how the Pantry works - and how people qualify to receive food. The pantry serves a lot of people and really helps them in these hard economic times. THANKS MRS. G!

Here is a completed box. All it needs is a turkey. They were outside - frozen in the back of a pick-up. What a nice box of food.

Then the 4H'ers returned 'home' to make breakfast. We had learned all about Baking Powder - acids and bases and CO2 the night before. Does anyone remember what we learned?????

Baking Powder is a LEAVENING AGENT. Having this in your recipe makes bubbles that lighten and soften baked goods – making them nicer to eat. Without the bubbles, cookies would taste like big flat hard crackers.

Dry Leavening Agent = Acid + Base + Inert Starch
BAKING POWDER = Cream of Tartar + Baking Soda + Cornstarch

When you mix this powder with water a chemical reaction happens with the acid and base. This reaction makes CARBON DIOXIDE BUBBLES in your recipe.

NaHCO3 + H+ ===> Na+ + CO2 + H2O is the chemical equation for what happens when you add water to Baking Powder

So we put this chemistry to work to see how good it might taste with a little flour, sugar and CHOCOLATE CHIPS tossed in!

The results looked pretty good, but not 1/2 as good as they tasted.

We also enjoyed some fresh scrambled eggs with our muffins. YUMM-I-E!

Photo Scavenger Hunt on BEAUTIFUL DAY!

2010-11-13T17:09:00.000-08:00

OK - so a gorgeous 55F Fall Day. How DID we pick this day back in August. I could not have been mor perfect. So MM set the kids out to find 17 items with a camera. They worked in pairs - Ready - got your lists - GO......
OK- wait - we need a PRE-HUNT group photo-op! Nice smiles EVERYONE!

Then - G, B and N put their heads together to figure this one out. G is the note-taker, N the brains behind this one, and B keeping them all in line! WELL DONE GALS!

MM didn't make it easy. We weren't looking for acorns and grass. This is "find something straight"...

I think this was "find five different leaves"

This was definately "something folded". M related a shocking tale about Grandpa and how this chair ended up in THIS CONDITON - in THIS LOCALE!

and.... 'something with 5 colors'

Afterwards, we took a nice hike thru our host's property. There is a 'TARZAN and JANE' stop along the way with an AWESOME vine for swinging. Tarzan - eat your heart out! Ah-a-hah-a-ah.....

But not before the 'judges' had time to evaulate the Scavengers results. In the foreground Gretchen is trying to decipher tiny tiny pictures - MaryMargaret does the same with a second group - and Barb with the third. The criteria were simple - the evaluations of 'unique' and 'creative' another story! Especially in those TINY view finders - in BRIGHT sunlight! In the end - the point spread was from 193 to 211, a tough challenge - with similar results for a great group of kids. WELL DONE TO ALL!

And - what would a nice fall day be with out hot chocolate and cookies after the judging was complete? Never mind that they are like pigs - in the hog barn! :0) (no worries - the swine aren't expected until 2011!)

More vine swinging....

And a nice group shot in a lovely spring place called "Fairy Land"!

Then a little more hiking to the neighbors field and a visit with Falcon (the paint) and Cody (the dark horse).

A good time was had by all. Our hosts say we can do it again. ..... THANK-YOU from all of us....... We'll have to up the prizes - and make it a tad tougher. This crew of mostly the Elementary Gang - did GREAT!

FALL HARVEST DINNER

2010-11-13T17:01:00.000-08:00

So - COOKING is a big theme this year. The leaders have planned 4 Dinner EVENTS throught the year. At each we will have our 16 members in 4 groups. Rotating thru salad, vegetables, main-dish, and dessert. Here we are 2 weeks ago planning the first dinner - a FALL HARVEST. Cindy works thru some tough salad decisions - and helps her small make good suggestions for the club to choose from.
Then Tami and a couple of the kids check out the FACS ROom kitchen to make sure it has the utinsels, serving dishes and supplies we will need to prepare dessert for 20 people next week.

Terri just isn't sure about this list!

Well, the big night arrives. Here S works with Barb on 'onions' for the chicken cacciatore. Later she and G are working to mix together the sauce for our chicken. It doesn't look so good - YET! Donna is only a LITTLE stressed out. 90 minutes to skin the chicken, brown the chicken, make the sauce and get it served for 20 people! YIKES! Barb is madly searching for something. WHatta team!

Meanwhile over in DESSERTS - B and A work on something CHOCOLATE. Yea - B-R-O-W-N-I-E-S. NICE CHOICE!

and... here is our first course team - working up a yummy salad.

and.... lets not forget the veggie crew in Kitchen #4. M is checking out the recipe with the help of "B". It's a good thing "B" is around. She was a big help on the Scavenger Hunt too! Whew - we need all the help we can muster sometimes.

As things wound down in the kitchens, and all the dishes were baking away - all the kids worked to make place cards and get tables set. I for one had NO IDEA this was really happening. What great leader-teamwork we had to get this all done!

At 7:12 - just 12 minutes after our target SIT DOWN time - we did it. Here is one table of middle-schoolers beggining to enjoy their main-course!

And - a table of Elementary kids. Not so sure that one in a gray sweatshirt thinks this is so great a taste!

The amazing t his is that we didn't serve 20 people as planned. Actually -28 people sat down and enjoyed this 3-course meal. All fresh, hot and tasty!

Here is a table full of Mom's and leaders. We even had the pleasure of Janice Fox's company from the Cooperative Extension office. We were so glad to share this with her - - - and WHEW - it came out OK!

Guess this picture should be up higher - we began with the first course - salad!

In the end - there weren't many left overs, most left with satisfied bellies and alas, the clean-up began. Whatta mess of dishes, serving bowls and preparation utinsels, pots and pans. We must heartily THANK the FACS TEACHER for letting us use this wonderful facility. We simply could not do such an event in someone's home - or even a community center.

THE THRILLS & SKILLS FALL HARVEST DINNER - -- in the end - - - -

4 groups - 4 kitchens - 3 courses - and 28 satisfied 4H'ers!

Here is to happy HEADS, HEARTS, busy HANDS and learning about good HEALTH!

Let's Get Down to BUSINESS!

2010-11-13T16:59:00.000-08:00

Between the main course and dessert - M ran a great Business Meeting. Just once a month does the trick. Madame President keeps us up to date on upcoming events in our club and in the county 4H. WELL DONE.
Miss B does a great job of writing up minutes for each meeting and sharing with us all that we accomplish each month. THANKS!

And let's not forget our treasurer. She keeps our attendance and makes sure everyone pays their dues at each meeting..... Nicely done. .... Now -what shall we do with our KITTY this year?

Peebles Island - GeoCaching

2010-10-21T09:25:00.000-07:00

It was a cold Saturday - but we ventured out anyway. NO MORE RAIN DATES -OK folks? We had enough of those last year. No flu either - OK? Here is Mr. "W" at our first find of the day. Took a bit of digging around - the GPS's were bouncing all over the place because of the cloud cover - but we got the job done!
The kids learned quick - those that were first timers - that many cache's only have a log. Not TERRIBLY exciting. THEN we found the ammo can. Full of good stuff to trade with. Good thing Mrs. M brought along some goodies to leave behind to replace the stash taken by the group!

And - we had a nice turnout didn't we? The weather turned a bit sunnier and was nice. AND - thanks to everyone, we didn't lose anyone over the cliffs. Even Coach "T" from school tagged along to see what this geo-caching is all about? So - will she venture out with Thrills & Skills again? We'll just have to see!

A few of us trekked on to find a 3rd cache of the day. This one was not too hard to find. Getting it out was another chore.............. um, Miss "I" what ARE you doing to that tree?

Miss "T" found out - all ya had to do was dig UNDER the kids thru the BOTTOM of the tree! NICE FIND - her first......

Placemats & Meetings!

2010-10-21T09:14:00.001-07:00

At our first meeting of the year "M" runs her first meeting. NICE JOB!
Then we moved on to sewing place mats and napkins. Mrs. Morton let us use her serger for really quick napkins. We'll use these at our 4 cooking events and meals together this year.

Here are all of our 2010 Fair items that were chosen to go to the 2011 NYS Fair. Congrats everyone!

And - we now have THREE 5th Graders. They are all psyched for the year ahead!

Dyken CampOut & Kick-Off Event

2010-10-21T09:08:00.000-07:00

We had a really great time at Dyken for our 2010-11 Kick-Off Event. We made some kool picture frames out of things we found in the woods, got to cook our dessert over the campfire, and stay in a YURT. The adults slept under the stars (some for the first time despite years of camping) and it was just a gorgeous night for all of this. We also held elections down at the Amphitheater using flashlights! It was quite the elections. Congratulations to all the new officers!

A new member - WELCOME E!

AND - here is the yummy GOULASH recipe that everyone seemed to enjoy!

1 T olive Oil

2 lbs London Broil

1 large onion - diced FINELY - actually almost minced.

2 cloves of garlic - minced

1-1/2 cups frozen corn

1 c fresh mushrooms - MINCED beyond recognition!

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

Any fresh tomatoes that need a home - dice and toss in!

2 c water

1 T paprika

2 t salt

12 oz pasta (elbow macaroni)

Grated Cheddar - as needed

Cut meat into 1" cubes, flour and brown in olive oil. When brown, remove from pot and then saute onions, garlic and mushrooms until soft. Return meat to the pot and add tomatoes, water & spices and simmer until the meat is tender. Several hours... Add water as needed, or more canned tomatoes. Remember, the pasta will soak up quite a bit of water. Then (we did this at camp) add corn and pasta and heat until pasta is tender. Enjoy with Cheese - and FIRE BISCUITS!

Kids Working Snack Bar at the Fair

2010-10-21T08:59:00.000-07:00

Here are a few shots of the kids working the 4H Snack Bar. We had a number of first-timers.I'm not sure which shift is which - but I know we covered a lot of time and had almost everyone there. THANKS TO ALL who participated. See ya next year!

Thrills & Skills at the County Fair

2010-09-10T07:25:00.000-07:00

Look at this - FRIENDS building Bridges! This IS what Thrills & Skills is all about! This is the Outdoor Display depicting our Bog Bridge Repair project put together for the Schagitoke Fair. We won a blue ribbon for this KIDS!
The last minute touches for the outside Fair Plot. Dad's get in on the action to help put this all together. Barb - bringing all the materials and know-how to get this put together!

And - on the inside. We made another Blue Ribbon winning display of all the community service done this year. Everything from UMCOR Health Kits for Haiti, cookies for the homeless, Christmas gifts for 5 girls living at Unity House, Bean Soup Jars to give to community 'acquaintences' for Christmas, to installing 4 blue-bird houses at Dyken Pond Environmental Center and Bog Bridge Repair project on the Taconic Crest Trail. Well Done EVERYONE!

Look at this. Hannah meets the Judge!!!! Wonder what he had to say about her Flower Press!

This is Janice Fox. The 4H Youth Coordinator for Rensselaer County Cooperative Extension of Cornell University. She thinks Bri's anorak is PRETTY SPECIAL! We think JANICE is pretty SPECIAL too. Thanks for all your help - always given with a smile - to our club!

We did BUNCHES of sewing projects. I see Eliza's apron, Grace's Anorak, Mel's skirt, Hannah's apron, and more! I think there is a quilt in there somewhere. Nicely Done! We also had 11 projects recognized as really well done that will be on display at the 2011 NYState Fair. GREAT JOB!

Here are some more sewing proejects. I see Kathleens musical pants, Eliza's cross-stitched pillow, and a BUNCH of 9-patch pillows.

Let us not forget the flowers! This display included our Dried Flower Mirrors and documentation of our forced hyacinth bulbs!

You know we aren't all about sewing and food! We also made lamps, created hiking journals (and documented 12 hikes to qualify for judging) and did woodworking - like flower presses and CD racks. Nice stuff!

5th Annual Camping Trip

2010-08-29T17:08:00.000-07:00

I must have been relaxing and having a lot of fun, because there aren't a lot of pictures on MY camera from the Fathers Day weekend trip. Here is CINDY - on their boat, helping us all to go tubing this year. We are thinking to change the venue for 6/2011. Perhaps heading to a private camp-ground near by and going tubing down the Battenkill. THOUGHS?
Dinner time at camp. Never a shortage of food. Nice tarp too - just in case of the annual sprinkles! NONE this year - nice job Mother Nature!

And - after every meal - DISHES! Great job girls.

Best of all - simple down time. This shot in the meadow adjacent to our favorite camping spot. What a gorgeous weekend it was.

Clothing Evals and Fashion Review

2010-08-29T17:02:00.000-07:00

This was the second year we did sewing projects for the 4H CLothing Evaluations. The HARDEST part is writing up the commentary. We have to work hard on it because this is what they read while we walk down the aisle at Jo-Ann Fabrics.. It has to sound GOOD!
Here is Miss A posing for a picture to use with her commentary. NICE JOB on the Apron!

And here is another Miss A modelling her dog themed apron. Nice job blending two of your favorite things. Well - three, cooking, sewing and dogs!

Here is Grace in her Dog Anorak. I'm sensing a theme here myself!! She is excited for Fall becuase she can FINALLY wear it now that it is almost done being JUDGED. One more step - our Fair! Then colder weather and a new anorak!What a nice group of you represented Thrills & Skills at Jo-Ann Mother's Day weekend. Great job on the pants, aprons, and anoraks - and M's skirt. Love it and can't wait to know what you want to sew next year!

Trail Maintenance

2010-08-29T16:48:00.000-07:00

This year we took on a DIFFERENT kind of volunteer project. We decided to FIX the BOG BRIDGES on the Taconic Crest trail leading to the Snow Hole. Here is Drew Jones from Williams College helping the leaders scope out this muddy muddy project in mid-April. There were a lot of broken brides and sinking or rotted support timbers. This area also needed just a TAD bit of drainage!
Mrs. Donlon looks pretty excited about this - ehh? Good thing she wore her MUD boots. Or - maybe these are her NEW mud boots? oopsie - sorry!

Um - and this is the beginning of work day. Williams students carried in all the materials for us. We are 10-12 years old after all!! Now, WHERE ARE THE KIDS. All I see here is the leaders getting muddy. Note - I am BEHIND the camerA! HA!

Ahh - there is the whole group. What a nice look all this mud is!

Ingrid, Mel and Bry learning about the BRACE and BIT! This was Mr. Morton's grandfathers tool. It works WITHOUT electricity - and is a great thing for this project. Nice job girls! WOW - all that softball practice really paid off on this outing. GO BRI - get that bridge off the muddy base! Get-um SLUGGER!

Even the 4th Graders got in on the drilling act. This is FUN! Some of our group had to depart early - but most stuck it out until the end. This was a lot of work. In the end - most of the kids agreed it was worth the trip and acknowledged that everyone who uses this trail during wet weather will surely appreciate our work - even if they don't know we did it! NICE JOB EVERYONE!

Wood Working & More Demonstrations!

2010-08-29T16:44:00.000-07:00

Well - it's true. I get distracted late in the year and aren't as good at keeping up to date. Here are some more pictures and two more posts with end-of-year activities!

Here is Grace doing her CHICK demonstration at 4H District Demo Days in Voorhesville. This was Early May! She did great and will be presenting at the NYState Fair in Syracuse come August!
Mrs. G came thru once again with a GREAT wood-working project. We made a CD rack. Lots of sanding on this one. We had to keep the screws going straight and then the most fun - we learned all about the MESS of staining. They came out great!

Catching Up

2010-04-15T07:50:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!
BEEP and life do sometimes get in the way of my getting things done. I can't believe it's been since early February that I updated our BLOG. So - here is a picture diary - of all that we've accomplished since then! PLEASE Check the side-bar for meeting schedule thru the end of the year.

Get ready for camping - it'll be the best ever - 5th annual I believe! Whatta milestone!

We forced hyacinth bulbs. Despite an allergic reaction to the bulbs when we handled them in January - many bloomed. Remember to take your pictures and fill out the log to enter it in the fair in August. Here are Ingrid's Sprouts:
.....and Grace's Blooms!

We also responded to the Earthquake in Haiti. It was a proud moment when I delivered these to the United Methodist Council on Relief - 20 Health Kits from Thrills and Skills. These are needed and we are appreciated.

Over February break everyone started their sewing projects. These ranged from quilts, jammie pants, aprons, and anoraks to skirts! WELL DONE everyone. Clothing Evaluation season is upon us. Here "S" learns all about how to run the machine!

and K and C cut out their pants!Then we moved on to woodworking. We are a diversified group in so many ways. Mrs. G designed a perfect CD Rack for us all to build and stain. Here H is working to put in the screws! Everyone else in the background is STILL SANDING!

"W" got done super quick 'cause boy-o-boy those brownies sure looked good and mean 'ole Mrs. M said "not until your project is done"!

Here a bunch of girls puts a coat of stain on their finished project. Lots of sanding and work to get this far. Nicely done everyone...

In March we moved on to Demonstration Season. M told us all about how to Snowboard Safely.....

.....and "R" told us how to make an Oragami Crane. We even got to fold along with her. What a great first demonstration she put together.Grace explained the delicate art of Brooding Chicks. She was one of a few in our county to be named an Exceptional Demonstrator. She'll go to District Demonstration Day in May. KR was also named an Exceptional Demonstrator. As a first-timer, she'll have to do this again next year - and then she can to to the District Day too!

After the demonstrations were over, David and a few kids went out to D Pond to hang our Bluebird Houses. Several of these houses went to State Fair last Summer too. This donation of our effort and supplies is greatly appreciated by the center. Let's plan an outing mid-summer to see who may have moved into the 4 houses we put up in the Land of 1000 Dead Trees!

And then, Spring is on the horizon already. We decorated some little tin pails.....

Some VERY much in anticipation of the new seasons....

and planted marigold seeds. NOW - to remember to water them. This is always the trick isn't it?

Our most recent outing was to the Regional Food Bank to volunteer. Here we learned how they help 23 counties within our state to feed the hungry. Trucks go out daily filled to the brim with supplies for food pantrys, shelters, soup kitchens, day care centers. Even Whiskers gets donated cat food and kitty litter from here. In this picture we are IN the FREEZER! Yes "IN" the freezer. We were so glad our work was not in here, but somewhere a tad warmer.

Here we are learning about our task. We worked for 2 hours on two huge totes like this. It is full of food from food-drives. We looked for expiration dates and then sorted it into CEREAL, SOUP, FRUIT & VEGGIES, FOOD PANTRY and MISCELLANEOUS categories. Then we weighed each small box, and sorted them onto pallets.

Here we are at the end - with all the pallets of sorted food. WELL DONE EVERYONE!

Relief Kits

2010-01-28T07:09:00.000-08:00

I thought it appropriate that our group somehow support Relief Efforts for Haiti. A perfect way to do this is by donating UMCOR Health Kits. Each one costs around $10 to make. Follow this link to see the full description - and bring at least one completed kit to the meeting on February 5th. http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/media/pdf%20files/sbdhealthkitv02.pdf

We'll contribute the requested $1 for shipping costs out of our kitty. UMCOR is on the ground in Haiti. The need for these kits is real. This is a very tangible way that our kids can help out the millions of people in need in Haiti.

Place the following items inside a sealed one-gallon plastic bag.
1 hand towel (15" x 25" up to 17" x 27", No kitchen towels)
1 washcloth
1 comb (large and sturdy, not pocket-sized)
1 nail file or fingernail clippers (no emery boards or toenail clippers)
1 bath-size bar of soap (3 oz. and up)
1 toothbrush (single brushes only in original wrapper, No child-size brushes)
6 adhesive plastic strip sterile bandages
$1.00 to purchase toothpaste

We did 9-patch

2010-01-12T05:40:00.001-08:00

Everyone did a great job with their completed quilting projects. Here is everyone with thier completed 9-patch pillows with our 4H Logo on it!

WELL DONE!

9-Patch Ideas

2010-01-07T08:15:00.000-08:00

OK - on Friday we're going to make 9-patch squares - and turn them into pillows. I cut out LOTS of 5" squares this morning. I want you to look at these ideas - and then come up with your own way to use the colors. NOTICE that ONE spot is blank in all of them. THis is because Mrs. Gorbaty has made a special square with our 4H Thrills & Skills LOGO on it to put there - or wherever you like.

THis one is TWO colors.

This one has only 3 other colors that all play off the colors in the peace sign fabric.

This one has ALL colors!

This is my WILD square. Blacks and browns work nice with the JUNGLE fabric on two corners.

Cookies Galore

2010-01-07T07:59:00.000-08:00

OK - I posted this on MY blog instead of the 4H one. Oh Molasses! Well - enjoy this here too I guess now that it is here! Here we are in the FACS (Family and Consumer Science) Room. at school WOW - what a treat! 4 kitchens - about 15 cooks. Whatta recipe for success this was! We divided into 4 groups and made 4 different kinds of Christmas Cookies. Here is Mr. Morton's group - making Turban Cookies. His Mom used to make these - they are his FAVORITE!
Mrs. Morton's group made Jam Thumprints. They have nuts and jam - so not always the kids favorite - the the pretty jam does make for a pretty tray!

Judy made OUTRAGEOUS COOKIE BARS! The name is telling! You can't go wrong with condensed milk, nuts and chocolate now can you?

This group, with Mrs. Gorbaty - made SPRITZ! Now, that is fun - SHOOTING DOUGH!

Nina not so patiently (HE HE)waits for the results! WHile we did feast on our efforts for snack - she took a whole bunch of these back to her church where they are hosting INN FROM THE COLD for the entire month of December. I'm sure the homeless guys appreciated the sugar!

And, last but not least - the results of our efforts. YUMMIE - - It is January as I write - and I think I need to make a batch of something REAL SOON!Here is the group anxious for SOMETHING!

Not sure if this was before or after the baking. We also learned about forcing Hyacinth Bulbs during this meeting. Mostly we learned about Hyacinth ITCH - NO FUN! But - hope those bulbs are in a nice chilly place - I'll send out a reminder soon to tend them!

Here are our Recipes! HAPPY NEW YEAR

JAM THUMBPRINT COOKIES Gretchen Morton

Yield: 2 dozen SMALL cookies – DOUBLE this one!

½ c butter - softened

¼ c brown sugar

1 egg - separated

1 t Vanilla

1 c flour

1 c finely chopped nuts

Prepared Jam (Betty Crocker calls for strawberry, Gretchen is partial to apricot)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Beat butter & sugar until light and fluffy.

2. Add egg yolk and vanilla and mix until smooth3. Add Flour

4. Roll dough into 1” balls

5. Dip balls in egg white – then roll in nuts

6. Place 1” apart on ungreased cookie sheet

7. Press thumb in center of each cookie

8. Bake 10-12 minutes in a 375F oven, or until light brown

9. Cool

10. Fill depression with ¼ tsp. jam

11. Eat and enjoy

OUTRAGEOUS COOKIE BARS Judy Engel

½ c (1 stick) butter

1-½ c Graham cracker crumbs

1 can sweetened condensed milk (yummy)

2 c (12 oz. package) chocolate chips

1 c flaked coconut1 c chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Melt butter in 13 x 9 baking pan in oven

3. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over butter

4. Stir well & press into bottom of pan

5. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumbs

6. Sprinkle with chocolate chips, coconut, and nuts

7. Press firmly

8. Bake for 25-30 minutes until light golden brown

9. Cool completely

10. Eat until you can eat no more!

TURBAN COOKIES David Morton

½ c shortening

½ c sugar (plus ¼ c for coating balls)

½ c brown sugar

1 t vanilla

1 egg

2 T milk

½ c peanut butter

½ t salt

1 t soda

1-¾ c flour

DIRECTIONS

1. Cream shortening and sugars together until light and fluffy.

2. Add egg, vanilla and milk.

3. Add peanut butter.

4. In a separate bowl, sift flour, salt and soda together.

5. Add flour mixture gradually to creamed mixture.

6. Roll in 1” balls, and then roll them in sugar. Place on baking sheet.

7. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes. Meanwhile – unwrap enough kisses(one for each cookie).

8. Add kisses to the middle of the cookies after removing them from baking sheet. BEWARE the kisses will become soft and stay that way until the cookies cool!!

9. Just TRY and make them last more than 2 days!

SPRITZ COOKIES Barbara Gorbaty

1 c butter

1 c white sugar

1 egg

2-2/3 c all-purpose flour

1/4 t salt

2 t vanilla extract

A few drops of food color

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and white sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. If possible, cover dough, and chill for at least one hour.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Press dough out onto ungreased, chilled cookie sheets.

3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly golden at the edges. Remove from cookie sheets to cool.

4. These will be pretty – but NOT TOO pretty to eat! Enjoy!

December Sleepover

2009-12-06T16:02:00.001-08:00

The week before the sleepover many of you went to the WINTER FAIR! GREAT JOB everyone. Here Eliza is working to turn her FISHY cross stitch into a big pillow just in time to take it to the fair!
Really Nice Job ELIZA! Be sure and keep it neat and tidy for the Schagitoke Fair in August!

OK - so after way too much flu and several cancellations and postponements we FINALLY had a major outing this Fall! After working to start cinnamon rolls (for breakfast) as soon as everyone got there - we had tacos. We're VERY sorry that Brianna couldn't be there. This great menu choice was hers - and everyone really enjoyed them.... We also missed Alyssa - Amanda - Kathleen and - Ruby!

Once we finished up dinner - we shifted gears into our 2nd project of the night - SOUP JARS! We made 37 of them - everyone got to take some home for gifts! NICE JOB EVERYONE! Remember - no family members get these - an ACQUAINTENCE - not even good friends - an ACQUAINTENCE!

....... Count - measure - 1/2 cup of beans - watch out not too many on the floor - 2t of minced onion, 2t of boullion, 1 t of this, 1/2 t of that and 1/4 c of brown sugar! Nice job with all the measurements kids - - - It was a bit intense for awhile -

and then we had to seal them up and decorate them with special tags Mrs. Winckler made! Thanks to everyone for getting us your ingredients - even if you couldn't be here. We really appreciate the follow thru! I'm sure everyone will rave about the Thrills & Skills Bean Soup Mix!

Then it was time to punch down our yeast dough. NICE JOB - it worked. It was a bit delayed because SOMEONE was late and we didn't have a toasty fire going early on - but the dough eventually warmed up and doubled like it was supposed to!

Then after it was punched down and rolled out - - it was time to smear butter, sugar, cinnamon, raisins and pecans all over! NOW - this is cookin' folks!

Then we had dessert (thank-you Hannah - it was perfect!) and settled down to listen to Mrs Donlon. She taught us how to weave coasters on home-made cardboard weaving boards! They are awesome! Don't forget to bring these to meetings to finish up!

Everyone started to settle into their night-spots around 10pm - - and slept until almost 8am. All of you were GREAT guests - I'd host you all again real soon! In the morning we enjoyed our cinnamon rolls for breakfast and then made home-made French Knitters! Mrs. M has nick-named them RED NECK KNITTERS - as they are made from a $1 piece of PVC pipe - the name seems fitting. Here Mrs. Johnson and Eliza struggle to find those stitches! Don't worry gals - you'll get the hang of this.

Sleepover Postponed

2009-11-21T05:42:00.000-08:00

The results are in. Please don't mistake my "funny" tone as being excited
about this postponement. We have really labored about this and I know everyone
including us, is very sad to not have this event tonight.

While our ailments definately improving - I asked a couple of you if you would be
comfortable here tonight - and the answer was NO! I TOTALLY understand.

The POLL results are a tie between Fridays: 11/27 & 12/4.
I know many are travelling Thanksgiving weekend - so perhaps with 2 weeks notice we can get the majority of kids here for December 4th. Same plan - same list for Tacos & Soup Jars.

If you find that you can't make it - please let me know. Please make arrangements to drop off your soup ingredients. We'll see that you get 2 jars of soup to give as gifts.

Thanks for your understand - and enjoy a night with one less thing on your agendas!

Meeting Reminder - -

2009-10-14T17:17:00.001-07:00

OK folks - - the meeting reminder is BELOW another GREAT set of pictures from Mrs. Judy! THANKS - - - This is the Pancake and Scrunchie meeting - - you remember, the one that went REALLY LATE! We're trying very hard NOT to do that this Friday! thanks. Mrs. M!

MEETIING REMINDER

2009-10-14T13:33:00.001-07:00

Check the side-bar for items to bring to the meeting on Friday!

We'll be making something with Mrs. Winckler out of our dried flowers. DON'T forget to bring them!

Pics from September 25 Meeting

2009-09-29T20:14:00.000-07:00

We did all kinds of great stuff last Friday. We completed Hiking Journals, worked a little bit on cross-stitch, made record book covers, had SHOW & SHARE, ate birthday cake and laughed a lot. Here are some great pictures from Judy! THANKS!

September GeoCache in PTown Forest

2009-09-20T09:59:00.000-07:00

We had a GREAT day in PTown Forest. The day started with everyone making a great Hiking Journal. If you missed this - be sure and come at 6:30 Friday. Mrs. W will do it again with you - - we'll be using these all year!

We then went on to find all 5 geocaches that Mrs. Cache mapped out for us. MANY thanks for the great maps and wonderful place to search. Many thanks also to Mrs. D for hosting and Stampin'-Girl for the GREAT design for our HIKING JOURNAL. Don't forget to make a journal entry for this trip. Meeting at 6:30 Friday. Check side-bar for things you need to bring!

Here is everyone with the Ta-Ta cache!
Sorry 'bout your boots Judy!

GREAT flowers!

A nice spot to check the GPS and see where to go from here.

The coordinates say this is the spot. WHERE IS IT?

Mr. M giving some advice about what we may be overlooking.

See what great hikers we are? We all have our maps and 10 essentials bags. NICE job everyone!

Skip-Skip ----- Skip to my Lou.......

Saturday Geocache Hike - Things to Bring

2009-09-13T16:52:00.000-07:00

TIME CHANGE: Meet at 10:30 (30 minutes later than previously scheduled!
Remember to bring:

GPS device IF you have one
sack lunch
plenty of water to drink
GOOD walking shoes - keep the weather and MUD in mind
10 Essentials (new members check side bar for what this is)
HAT and RAIN gear. We're not gonna chicken out this time!

First Meeting of the Year

2009-09-12T04:12:00.000-07:00

Here are our State Fair Entries for 2009 and 2010. We had two hummingbird feeders on display last month in Syracuse at the NYState Fair. Next year we will have four things on display. Two bluebird houses, one cross stitch project and one pine-cone wreath. Well done girls! Look for this picture in the Advertiser in the next couple of weeks!
Here are our candidates for Vice President. Someone promising CHOCOLATE swept the votes! Congratulations to all of our officers for this year! We're expecting CHOCOLATE Miss. VP!

Here we have a couple of really dedicated Dads. They are helping to prepare the carnations for pressing! THIS is dedication!

Here, everyone is hard at work making their flower presses.

We had a nice crowd. Here is the OTHER side of the room.

Meeting Location

2009-09-05T15:04:00.000-07:00

We will definately be meeting at the School this year. However - - we will be at the Middle School in Room 123. This is the Science Room in the 6th Grade Wing. For the first meeting only - we will have someone wait at the main entrance (NOT by the Auditorium - but the one nearer the middle of the building under the Vertical Red Tam...... sign) to help get you into the right cooridor.

The first meeting is this coming Friday, September 11th at 6:30.

Please arrive by 6:30 this first meeting. We will have elections. Kids that have self-nominated should be prepared to speak about WHY they want each office they would like to have. We'll have a brief business meeting - pay $20 Annual Dues - pay $10/person for July Camping Trip - and have several projects. Please check the side-bar and remember to bring the items listed.

All meetings will have a 6:30-7:00 time for the kids to pay their dues BEFORE the meeting and to get help with projects they are working on at home. The meeting-proper will begin at 7:00.

2009 Fair

2009-09-05T14:52:00.000-07:00

Everyone did GREAT at the fair. Many thanks to all the kids who helped out taking orders at the Snack Bar. Here is the 1st Shift Crew. You did a Great Job! I'm sorry I don't have a picture of all the rest of you!
Here is Ingrid doing her Oatmeal Brown Sugar Pancake Demonstration at the Fair (recipe link follows). Next year - we hope more kids will do demonstrations and be able to do them at the Fair too.

The "season" for Demonstrations is March. Everyone should be thinking of something to show. It does NOT have to be cooking. Last year Will showed how to build a bridge, Eliza showed how to pot a plant and Grace showed everyone all about making Oatmeal Container Animals. It can be ANYTHING you know how to do well. All you need is your supplies, a poster showing your project and perhaps some cue-cards so you don't forget what you want to say.

Pancake Recipe! Ingrid recommends 1-1/3 cup milk. Otherwise it is TOO thick.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Brown-Sugar-Oatmeal-Pancakes/Detail.aspx

Skin Care Party

2009-09-03T19:40:00.001-07:00

The older girls in our group had a day of learning all about how to take care of their skin. Here they are being extremely attentive to Mrs. Kriss. She respresents Mary Kay and came to teach them all about basic skin care, the importance of sun screen and just a touch of teen-age appropriate glamour.
When the hands had been satined, the faces cleansed and moisturized, and a touch of face powder and lip gloss applied we had eight fresh faces with beautiful smiles. THANK-YOU Mrs. Kriss for spending the time with us to help us become self confident young ladies!

Special Congratulations

2009-08-31T19:30:00.000-07:00

To Will & Amanda!

Our Cloverbuds did all the projects that everyone else did and they did a GREAT job at the FAIR telling the judges all about it.

Will & Amanda - we are very proud of you. You'll be full 4H Members before you know it.

all the Thrills & Skills Gang - - - -

2009 Fair Plot & Fall Plans

2009-08-31T02:32:00.000-07:00

Here are your leaders sprucing up the 4H Building at the Schaghticoke Fair Grounds. Be sure and check out all the things YOU made this year that are in the garden!

Please read thru Side Bar for upcoming meeting dates, things to bring to meetings, etc. Your leaders have planned another great year. Let us know if you need any more information or have questions. We will have hard copies of the year's schedule for you to take home from the first meeting.

VOLUNTEER: We need an adult to help us publish for 4H Week beginning October 4th. Think LOCAL Newspapers & Advertiser! Please take lots of pictures (kids at fair, meetings, outings etc.) and let us know if you can help us out.

April 24th Meeting

2009-04-24T09:25:00.000-07:00

Hmmmmm...
What can a bunch of Thrills & Skills kids do with this?

Come tonight and see!

Sewing Shorts Outfits

2009-03-02T16:58:00.000-08:00

Last week we tie-dyed a t-shirt and 1 yard of fabric to match. Everyone got to pick what color they wanted. Then, hopefully, everyone rinsed and washed their fabric over the weekend.

Remember for our meeting on March 6th (that is THIS FRIDAY COMING UP) to bring:

Sewing Box with:
washed and ironed tie-dyed fabric
pair of shears
tape measure
straight pins in your completed pin cushion
ALSO - bring a pair of scissors to cut paper with!!!

We'll be cutting out your shorts. You DO NOT need to bring your t-shirt. Keep it in a safe place until later this spring.

Here is G with a completed outfit on that Mrs. M made for someone who wasn't able to be at the meeting (gee - wonder who that is???). I wanted everyone to see how awesome they will be when they are done. We will also be embroidering our Thrills & Skills Logo on the t-shirt with green thread using an embroidery machine - under the careful guidance of Mrs. G. So - this outfit isn't REALLY done yet!

Your updated schedules show all these dates - but I want to post them here so you know what they are about...

By April 17th everyone needs to have their outfits done. Then you need to let one of the leaders (Mrs. D or Mrs. M) know if you are going to participate in the CLOTHING EVALUATIONS. They will be on April 27th from 6-8pm, at the County 4H offices downtown . You will be able to let the leaders know WHAT time you would prefer when you register. On April 27th you will need to wear you outfit down to the 4H office - and show it off. Experienced evaluators will judge them on the construction of the garment (as it is seen on you) and how the outfit looks on the individual.

On May 9th - at 10:30 at the Jo-Ann store in Colonie, 4H will have a FASHION REVIEW. This year it is called the A-May-Zing Creations. It is a regional 4-H Fashion Revue and about 75 participants are expected! In order to participate you MUST HAVE PARTICIPATED in the Clothing Evaluation beforehand. Evaluation sheets from 4/27, ribbons and awards will be presented at the Fashion Revue.

After this, if you want to, you may also participate in the Fashion Revue at the Schaghticoke Fair.

Bread Making -

2009-03-02T16:52:00.001-08:00

We learned all about YEAST BREAD a couple of weeks ago. We learned that the water had to be JUST the right temperature - that you have to measure the ingredients EXACTLY - and be careful not to add TOO much or TOO little flour! Even the Mom's had fun!
Here are some more Thrills & Skills gals watching their bread go round and round and be kneeded by the mixer! BREAD IS EASY!

Here is everyone with their shaped loaves. The loaves are now ready to go in the frig for 2-24 hours before baking. Surprise - not all yeast bread has to rise in a warm place.

AWESOME JOB EVERYONE!

Here is one YUMMY loaf ready to serve.

And - here are two more loaves. Maybe one should head for the freezer!

Past Meetings

2009-03-02T16:50:00.000-08:00

One of everyones favorite things to do is HAVE FUN! We were talking about demonstrations and picking out what kind of cookies to order and sell. Then we started making bread and having kind of a good foolin' around time!
Here is our Treasurer for the day! She is marking who came and how much they paid for their dues. GOOD JOB!

MEETING REMINDER - February 6th

2009-02-01T20:05:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone!

After our monthly business meeting we're going to continue our sewing and macreme. We're also going to delve into the world of YEAST! Come and learn about this fascinating cooking substance and learn how to make REFRIGERATOR BREAD!

Yes Mom's and Dad's. You don't need to bake this right away, you don't need to watch it for 2 hours..... this is miracle bread.

Kids will all take home 1/2 loaf worth of dough formed into a loaf, placed on a cookie sheet, oiled and covered in saran wrap. When you get home, simply refrigerate for as long as 24 hours. It'll be just fine for breakfast OR dinner Saturday!

45 minutes before you want warm crusty french bread.

1. Take bread out of frig and carefully remove wrap
2. Preheat oven to 400F
3. Place in relativly warm place (not the oven yet) and let bread come to room temperature for 20 minutes
4. slash top with sharp knife in 4 to 5 places
5. Bake for 20 minutes.
6. OPTIONAL: remove from oven and brush with beaten egg white & 1T cold water - return for 5 more minutes. This makes a gorgeous brown crust.....

If you like this - check back next week - I'll post the recipe! Watch out - you might get hooked on YEAST!

Macreme and Plants

2009-01-10T07:07:00.000-08:00

We had a fun meeting on the 9th. Be sure and try to work on your Macreme Plant Hangers a bit before the next meeting. Call or e-mail if you need another pair of Jute Cords to do another section! Here is "C" doing a great job with her Mom helping keep the cords straight!
And - here is our b'day girl "K" with her Mom and little sis doing their best to help out.

And look at "A" go with Dad! Good job! I cant wait to see how these all look in 2 weeks!

And "E" - she and her Mom have this figured out. It'll be done in no time.

We also worked on learning how to pot up our Pothos cuttings from September. Here Mrs. D demonstrates just how much soil to put in the pot before the cuttings. We made pretty pots for them too. They should grow a lot before the fair. Good Job everyone!

Remember to Keep them watered - but not floating!

January 9th Meeting Reminder

2009-01-06T06:01:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone:

HAPPY NEW YEAR - and welcome back to those we haven't seen in awhile!

Please bring a batch of cookies to send to IRAQ! Check out the sidebar for other important things to remember for the meeting.

As I mentioned in e-mail - - here come some details for Friday night! We will be decorating a pot for rooted plants, learning how to pot it (and taking materials home to do it there - plants too tender to take outside this time of year!) and start a Macreme Plant Hanger. We will work on the plant hanger over the next several meetings. IF there is time, we can also begin our pin-cushions. The 2nd meeting of January will be a busy meeting - continuing to work on these projects! If you're unable to attend this Friday - try to set up a date with Mrs. M or Mrs. D to get started!

I have two patterns to use for the Macreme hangers. One a TRUE macreme - and another more of a knotting project for those that can't or don't want to get into macrame. This easier project will be done in 1-2 meetings. Try to have an idea of which project you want to do on Friday - and we'll divide the Thrills & Skillsers into two project areas!

Each of the projects takes about 50 yards of jute. We are asking each member to bring $3 extra dues to offset the cost of these materials, the pots and potting soil. Thanks. These are all items that can be individually judged at the Schagitoke Fair in August - - the plant, the pot, the hanger... If completed and entered, you are very likely to WIN your material cost back!

PINCUSHION Design

2009-01-01T19:01:00.000-08:00

This is what our pincushion tops are going to look like. Mrs. G. has done these up on her embroidery machine on a variety of felt colors. I THINK most of the thread will be 4H GREEN! They will look even more awesome after you all do some blanket stitching around them and stuff them!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years Celebration. Don't forget we meet NEXT FRIDAY, January 9th (someone's birthday BTW - and she can bring snack if SHE wants to). We will meet at the school at 7PM. See sidebar for list of things to bring.

See ya!

Mrs. M.

Winter Fair - and Christmas Cookies!

2008-12-15T07:37:00.001-08:00

Congratulations to all of the kids participating in the Winter Fair. This is a great turnout - and doesn't even include 2 other kids that came late and missed the picture - - - -
REMINDER: We will be baking and frosting cookies to donate to two local shelters on Friday, December 19th. Please consider making the trip on Saturday to deliver this gift. Please e-mail me to let me know we have this covered. Bring Items for UMCOR Flood bucket so we can call this DONE - and bring Sewing Kit items if you've picked them! thanks - Mrs. M.

Thanks so much to all of you who have already dropped gifts off for our Adopt-a-Family project. We have made 5 girls stuck in a shelter over the holidays MUCH HAPPIER knowing that someone cares enough to remember them. THANKS TO YOU - we DO make a difference!

Fair THIS Friday & Upcoming Cookie Baking

2008-12-01T17:55:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone!

Most of the information you will want is on the sidebar - top item.

Remember also to bring cookies to send to Iraq - this will be our last shipment before Christmas!

If you need directions please call. I don't want to post this on the WWW!

See you Friday - 6PM at the Church... Hint: Rt. 40 - North!

UPCOMING COOKIE BAKING.
On Friday, December 19th - we will bake & decorate cookies as a Community Service Project. I will divide the group in half geographically and meet as two smaller groups. The cookies will be donated to two very worthy organizations that Mrs. Nichols has identified for us.

First: The cookies made at Rodda's will go to the "Inn From the Cold". C Church downtown is hosting 10 homeless men from Josephs House Shelter for the ENTIRE month of December. These cookies will be a welcome treat for them as they face the holiday without a home to call their own and few family members to share it with.

Second: The cookies finished off at the school will be taken to Damien Center. This organization serves lunch & dinner to people in our community living with HIV/AIDS and their families. These families will certainly enjoy the outreach from our group of young people as they cope with their illness thru a holiday season.

Please remember - the cookies will be made and/or decorated on Friday night. We also need an adult and several children to help take these donations downtown on Saturday morning. PLEASE PLEASE consider doing this. TRULY amazing things come from our childrens hearts when they see the fruits of THEIR labors appreciated by strangers in need.

4H Geocache Trip!

2008-11-19T04:55:00.000-08:00

Despite threat of rain - we did it last Saturday. We succeeded in finding 3 of 4 geocache stashes in F. Park. Everyone got a chance to work with the GPS device and get their hands on a cache. Pretty Cool. Here is the crew looking frantically for the 4th cache. We didn't find it. Better luck next time ehh? I'm sure Mrs. D can put together another nice set of cache's around here. We even talked about hiding and maintaining one of our own in the town park! Whatcha think? See you all soon!

GREAT JOB

2008-11-08T11:50:00.000-08:00

Great Job on Winter Fair projects everyone. Remember to keep them safe for the next month so they are still nice and fresh to take to Winter Fair on 12/5... Also - bring anything you can't complete at home and we'll work on it at the meeting 11/21...

xxxxxxx
NOTE TO X-stitches. Remember to be patient - we have a month to complete this. I"ll try and have some workshops inbetween the meetings so you can get some more help.
xxxxxxx

a BIG THANKS To Mrs. Gorbaty for all the work on Logos and Silk Screening. The shirts and other items silk screened are gorgeous. I'll try to post a photo soon!

Choose a Winter Fair Project

2008-10-29T18:27:00.001-07:00

I have added a POLL on the top of the SIDEBAR - please participate so I can gauge how many and how often people are using this tool. Please vote only once! thx - g

The full list of Winter Fair (December 5th) categories is listed in the sidebar. Almost ALL Of them require the use of a LOT of natural materials. Mrs. Donlon and Mrs. Morton have found some projects that fit in the categories. We will help you with one or more of these projects during BOTH November meetings. You may also choose to work on other unique projects on your own and bring them to the Fair.

Some of these are very simple - others will require a bit of time at home to complete..... Check back often - e-mail Mrs. Donlon or Mrs. Morton with any questions you may have.

For Winter Fair projects on November 7th, everyone needs to bring:

White Glue
Scissors
Markers
Cardboard tubes (toilet, paper towels, or gift wrap) to use and share
Supplies specific to project YOU choose to work on...
Other non-fair project items listed on the side-bar!!! (esp cookies & Relief Kit Items)

Look at the pictures, appropriate ages, material lists and decide on one or two you would like to make. We'll be working these CENTERS STYLE - with a leader for EACH project at separate tables. You can spend time at one center - or several.....
A mouse (and also reindeer and pine-cone heart ornaments (not pictured) will be pre-meeting activities in November that everyone can try their hand at. These are tiny - but can be taken to the fair. All materials will be provided, unless you have some special unique thing you would like to add.

Cross Stitch Ornament - - - this is geared to kids 4th grade and older. If you want to do this project, you do not need to bring anything. All materials are supplied (aida cloth, pattern, needle and floss of appropriate color for chosen design). These pictures are just examples. We'll have 10 or more to pick from on November 7th.

Christmas Card Star Ornaments - These will be appropriate for ALL ages. Please bring:
An assortment of old christmas cards that can be cut up!
A hold punch if you have one
Small scraps (6"x6" or so) of posterboard, cereal boxboard, etc - - to stabilize craft.
12" of ribbon PER ornament for hanger
GOOD paper cuttiing scissors.

Snow Globe - all Thrills & Skills age groups can make this shakey globe- - - Kids can choose what kind of winter scene they want to make. We will provide green foamy to make Christmas tree and silicone to seal the lid to the jar. Please bring:
1 to 3 SMALL plastic figures (people, animals) to put inside that will fit with the theme of your winter scene. Legos, soldiers, polly pocket, etc.
A jar of appropriate size AND IT'S LID! (small square profile as shown will be easiest to work with) Make sure it is big enough to accomodate your figures.
Glitter - any color you have or want!

Cardboard Reindeer - this is for kids of any age - - - We will have goggley eyes, ribbon, pom-poms and bells if these aren't in your stash at home. Please bring:
Construction paper
twigs for antlers
any special items you want for decoration.

Cardboard Scarecrow - - this is appropriate for our 2nd & 3rd Graders. Older kids welcome too. We will NOT use a perishable apple, rather a 2" diameter stick and several pinecones to form a bench for the scarecrow! We will supply, natural fiber yarn, pinecones and burlap! You will need to bring:
4-6" long stick or branch (perhaps 1" in diameter) for bench. Maybe a nice flat rock.
8"x8" piece of fabric for his tunic (we will have some if you dont' have this on hand

Your own yarn if you want it to be a bit more unique

Pine Cone Wreath - - this is also geared to 4th grade and above. If you want to do this project, you need to bring:
18" of ribbon or a recycled bow to adorn their wreath.

Just News & Updates!

2008-10-25T12:24:00.000-07:00

The Morton's covered their Sewing Boxes today. There are a couple of tricks. Many may also need some trim (ribbon, rick-rack, etc.) to cover exposed raw edges (the bane of sewing projects). If anyone would like to come and get help - please call Morton's or Donlon's and we can set up a time. It took about 30-45 minutes per box.

Mrs. Nichols provided a list of what people drew to contribute to the RELIEF KIT at the October 3rd meeting. Please check the sidebar for items you chose to bring. I know several brought these to the last meeting. As soon as Mrs. Nichols confirms that she has them - I'll delete and add new items to the list for our 2nd Relief Kit!

Our next meeting isn't until Friday, November 7th. Mrs. Donlon and Mrs. Morton are working to make a list of suggested projects for the Winter Fair. As soon as we have a list - and perhaps some pictures, I'll post them here. Please Continue to check in. We will provide many of the supplies. Depending on what you pick - we will have a list of items to bring for your specific project. Check the SIDEBAR for an abbreviated list from the Clover Chronicle.

Parents Meeting - Notes from Monday 10/13

2008-10-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

6 Mom's met and discussed a lot of items. This was a very productive session. Some changes are:

1) We will no longer have a snack - - we have a lot of things to do. Having a snack disrupts the flow and pretty much ENDS the meeting... AND - many parents felt that having snack AFTER activities (8:30 or so) is JUST too late. This will also reduce the clean-up efforts at the school and at home after the meeting.
2) We will rearrange the room so that kids are in smaller groups at individual tables.
3) We will have PLACE CARDS - so that children of various ages and attention spans are together. These are not PERMANENT seating assignments - we'll move kids as needed week to week. We are hoping to mingle the Supergirls and Mermaids, foster everyone getting to know one another, AND work on behavior for some of our younger kids.
4) THE KIDS are NOT to leave the room except to use the restroom. ADULTS will let latecomers in if the door is locked. We will not tolerate kids running up and down the halls any more.
5) We redesigned the Sewing Box project. I apologize to all for the leaders not providing enough instruction in advance so that everyone could come adequately prepared. We also apologize to those 4h'ers who have already completed t hese boxes. Please try to explain - that we needed to have boxes more consistent in size - and too many kids were unprepared on the 3rd. It is our hope that these completed projects can be put to use for other storage needs - - thanks for your u nderstanding...
6) We stressed that everyone should try harder to be in our room by 7:00 SHARP! Remember that often there are dances and sporting activities that will limit parking. Please factor this into your commute.
7) If you miss a meeting - please contact the leaders so that you can catch up... We will provide materials and instruction so that you can do this at home or get together with a small group outside of the meeting for help and to work together.
8) We need to stress to ALL CHILDREN (including mine) that they should treat the leaders as they do their teachers. Not interupting, not giggling, not walking all over the room... We have a big group and we need to work on respect for everyone. This goes for adults too - background conversations really make it hard for the leaders to keep the kids attention - and be effective. THANKS ---

g

REMINDER

2008-10-12T10:14:00.001-07:00

Parent meeting is tomorrow, Monday - October 13th. We will meet at Brunswick BBQ at 7PM. Hope to see most of you there.

We will discuss lots of things including: 4H membership, Relief Kit project, Cookies to Iraq project, behavior, timeliness and project expectations.

Take care - enjoy this beautiful day and see you tomorrow.

g

Thrills & Skills in Advertiser

2008-10-08T19:57:00.000-07:00

Our "Media Coordinator" - Cah - put an article and picture into this weeks ADVERTISER. This effort is but one step towards being an Honor Club. Making known our and the 4H Presence in THE County is but just ONE thing we are working towards this year. MANY THANKS TO Cah.

Documenting Community Service, Working at the Fair, participating in County Wide events (like Cabin Fever Workshop for Adults & Family Fun Day for kids in February) are but a few things we will strive to do this year to become an honor club.

Please save any copies you get at home - and perhaps get a copy or two from a neighbor for those who don't receive it and/or misplace their copies. This is something all the kids should keep in their RECORD BOOK folders...

thanks -
g

Welcome to our CLUB BLOG

2008-10-07T19:37:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone:

Welcome to the first 4H Thrill & Skill BLOG post. Using this easy -to-update venue, we hope to keep everyone up to date with what is happening in our group.

We have lots of wonderful things planed for this year. I will add our calendar in the coming weeks. Here you will be able to check who is bringing snack, who is on the clean-up crew, and what you need to bring to the next meeting.

We hope to provide enough information so that if you miss a meeting - you can come to the BLOG to "catch-up".

From the scuttlebutt (aka: Gossip) I've heard - your Project Leaders (Donna & Gretchen) feel that we need to have a parents meeting to make sure we are all on the same page.
We will have a parents meeting early next week. Please check back here for more details and/or keep your eye on e-mail. If you are unable to make this date - please let Gretchen know so we can chat another time.

We want this to be a rewarding and beneficial group for everyone.

You have no doubt noticed that we stepped up the pace a bit. We also structured the meetings to try and keep the kids from being bored and/or not-busy.

Many projects are started or explained during the meeting and the kids need to finish them up at home. Most of our projects can be entered into the Schaghticoke fair - and we are trying to give them enough direction and enough time to do a good job. Something they will be proud to have their name on when it is on display next August.

We have address lists for everyone so that contacting other members is not an issue. If you need a copy or lose it over the course of the year - pleaase let me know. I DO NOT think it is appropriate to post such information on the web.

Thanks for reading. Gretchen

Pictures from 2008 Camping Trip

2008-10-07T19:31:00.000-07:00